Still thinking about my studio visit with Linda Carmella Sibio earlier this week. Such a smart, prolific, courageous artist. Linda has been living the desert since the 1990s when she had to leave Los Angeles after being diagnosed as "incurable" and threatened with being institutionalized for life – she isn’t your typical desert artist, but her work speaks to the condition of the desert. (isolation, anonymity, economy and freedom to do your thing) I keep thinking that this savvy lady should be supported by important art institutions (not mental ones!) An excerpt from her statement rings so true: "My philosophical stance includes the modern day ostracizing of the insane from a productive society. In ancient times the insane were looked to for insights and guidance, today they clean dishes and bus tables. We can learn a lot about our society and culture by how the mad are treated. As we dispose of human beings so then we go toward a disposable culture.The fragmented thinking of the schizophrenic is actually a window into the placement of our culture. We are living in a deconstructed world no longer thinking linear thoughts. Our perceptions are continually interrupted by television, Internet, video surveillance, the media – we no longer have a single thought. We think in a multi-layered complex pattern. In order for our culture to go forward the darkness of the dismembered body needs to come into the light. We need to fragment in order to become whole again."

Major overhaul on the front hill this morning (you can almost see the house now) – thanks so much to Sarah and Margaret for powering through this job with me, despite the heat and burly windstorm. While we were working I kept having memories of my original fantasy that moving to the desert would somehow lessen my workload…

The little baby boy goat on the left and his brother who isn't in the photo need a good home as pets (not dinner)! They are 2/3 Nubian and 1/3 Algerian dwarf. Super sweet and tame and happy to go on long goat hikes in the desert. If anyone is interested let me know and I can put you in touch with their owner. Photo by @emmerglemmer